Paint the CNS: Can we use magnetically controlled capsules to place CNS drugs at specific locations?
Tissues of the central nervous system are functionally delicate and highly mapped. The Paint the CNS project aims to deliver drugs and other payloads to specific locations in the CNS using magnetically guided capsules. Our initial targets are locations in the spinal cord and locations on the cortex.
Along with collaborators at Johns Hopkins University and Purdue University, we developed MANiACs: Magnetically Aligned Nanorods in Alginate Capsules. These capsules are capable of magnetic guidance for pushing non-magnetic objects, climbing steep inclines, and loading and releasing small molecules. Using rotating magnetic fields, we have steered MANiACs to deliver small molecule payloads to specific regions of ex vivo CNS tissue (rat brain, mouse spinal cord).
Want to learn more? Check out this YouTube video!